Little Mercy
by Fairady
Summary: Daryl had been expecting to see Merle, not Sophia.


Disclaimer: I own not and make no money off of this.

Warnings: None.

Notes: Kink meme request. Daryl's dying and instead of Merle he sees Sophia.

Little Mercy  
by Fairady

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He'd expected Merle. It was the kind of shitty situation he'd show up for.

Covered in mud and blood, dragging his sorry ass along the ground, Daryl had expected his brother to pop up and give him hell about his broken leg. Merle didn't appear though, and as the day dragged on his brother still didn't appear. Even when the pain got to be too much for him to go on without whimpering like some dog, or when he felt the sun bearing down on him and thirst clawed his throat like a rabid animal.

Daryl's all alone. Right up to the moment his arms seize, and his muscles refuse to pull him one more inch forward. He struggles with it for a second, then for another. His fingers throb in the dirt they're buried in, his harsh breaths puff up a cloud of dirt that blinds him for a second and causes him to cough. The jarring motion sends a new wave of pain lancing up from his splinted leg, and it's too much. His body collapses and his eyes close. He's reached his limit. Gone as far as he could with what little he had, and it wasn't enough.

Daryl lies still, simply feeling the way his whole body hurts. Noting that it's become so pervasive he's detached from it. Viewing the pain as if it belonged to someone else. It's a bad sign, he knows it, but that knowledge is distant too. It feels almost like he's floating as he lays on the ground with his eyes shut. Like sleep is slowly creeping up on him.

The sound of a twig snapping doesn't register. The second is distantly noted and registered as bad news. It's not until a twig snaps right next to his ear that Daryl pays it any attention.

"Merle?" he rasps, surprised he still had it in him to talk.

Silence answered him and Daryl struggled to open his eyes. Because Merle wouldn't have wasted a second laying into him, would've chewed his ass real good for laying down and accepting he was done. Which meant it had to be a walker, and Daryl'd be damned if he got offed by a geek with no fight.

The sun was bright and in his eyes as it set, blinding him for precious seconds as he saw the outline of the figure crouched over him. Small and thin, it barely cast any shadow at all. Daryl blinked the spots from his eyes as the figure became clear and familiar. "Sophia?"

"Hi," Sophia said with a nervous smile. She plopped down next to him and hugged her legs to her chest. Hazel eyes peer down at him from a freckled and sunburned face as the girl simply sat there and watched him.

The silence dragged on and Daryl realized that this might be it for him. He was finally going to die. Had to be why the girl was here and not his brother.

"'m sorry," Daryl coughed out, figuring that he at least owed the girl that much before he died.

"Why?" Sophia rocked forward, just enough to block the sun out of his face. Kind, just like her mother.

"Didn't find ya," Daryl managed to pull his arms in towards his chest, ignoring the way they screamed from the motion. "Not in time."

"It's ok," she said, and she even made it sound alright. Like she didn't mind being dead. "You tried real hard. I know that. I-"

Daryl grunted as the girl stopped. Wanting to hear what she had to say, even if it really didn't matter. Even if she was just a figment of his mind brought on by severe pain and exposure.

"My dad," she continued, eyes cutting away from him and arms tightening around her knees, "he wouldn't have tried."

Ed was the type of asshole Daryl had dealt with his whole life. He knew damn well what the man had done to his family. His own old man had been just as bad. The knowing gave his words weight, "He wasn't a father."

Ed had been kin but nothing more than that. Not for Sophia or Carol.

"Thank you," Sophia smiled, the more crooked and honest smile she had to have learned from her mother.

The world slid slowly into darkness and they sat there saying nothing more. Daryl didn't know what else he had to say and the girl seemed content to simply sit beside him. It was nice, not being alone.

"Daryl?"

"Whu?" Daryl grunted and opened his eyes. A little frightened that he couldn't remember shutting them.

Sophia was luminous in the dark. Almost as if she was giving off her own light. It was comforting in a strange way. "How close are you to camp?"

How close? Hell, he didn't know. He'd been a half-day away hunting when he'd encountered the trap that'd snapped his leg.

"Do you think you can yell?" Sophia asked, not waiting for his answer. "Really, really loud. Whoever's on watch for the night should hear you now, right?"

Daryl breathed in and out, and listened. The night was always quieter and noise would travel farther. If he was anywhere close to camp they'd hear him. If he wasn't-

"Hell," he muttered, let the walkers come. He was dead either way.

"You can do it," Sophia uncurled herself enough to reach out and touch his cheek. "I know you can."

Daryl took another breath. As deep as he could manage, and yelled. For as long and loud as he could before black spots bloomed in front of his eyes and he ended up curled on his side coughing. The pain that had been so distant before was suddenly back in the forefront and came back with a vengeance. His vision swam and he knew -_knew_ dammit- that he was going to pass out like a sissy.

He could feel a cool hand patting his head as his eyes rolled back. "Take care of my mommy."

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End file.
